2012: The Year of Android [Infographic]

By Brian Wallace | Small Business

There seems to be a lot of hype about iPhones and iPads being the “must have” for mobile devices. In fact, if you’re surrounded by “Macheads” you might think that there’s nothing else that truly compares in this super powered industry. However, if we take a look at the numbers, it’s absolutely clear that Android devices are on the rise.

From January to September of 2012, Android activations increased from 850k to over 1 million. In fact, the number of Android powered phones actually trumps the number of iPhones by a fairly high percentage and the growth rate doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

Perhaps this could partially be due to the fact that a huge number of Android apps are totally free. Not to mention the sheer number of apps. In January of 2012, there were 425k Android apps. In December of 2012, that number jumped to 800k. That’s more than double the amount of apps in the course of a year.

Google’s Android has grown so much as to be a real thorn in the side of their competition. Google was sued for their patents and then exonerated of those charges in May of 2012. In October, they became more valuable than Microsoft for the first time ever. Bill Gates once said that one of his worst fears was the fledgling Google that started out in someone’s garage. It seems he had good reason to be nervous. It appears there’s no end in sight for the growth of the Android.

To find out more, take a look at this infographic below, brought to you by Startapp.